Paradise
by Heathocracy
Summary: Judy Hopps, a wonderful cop in the great city of Zootopia, started like all of us: young with dreams. Learn more of the past and its effects on the present and future for our favorite bunny and fox. Inspired by Coldplay's "Paradise."
1. The Coming Storm

With a crack of thunder, the storm had begun. Outside, clouds had begun to roll in at high speed as a hurricane was blowing over the coastline outside of Zootopia. The howling wind and drenching rain had attacked the city, billowing over Savannah Central and bringing the orange light of the evening to an end. Outside, chaos reigned that night.

But inside...that was a totally different story.

Looking up at the skylight of their apartment, a peaceful gray bunny lay in a bed. There was nothing this storm could do to shake the content mind of Judy Hopps. She sat up in the bed. Looking across the room, she smiled. There he was: the reason for her smiles. Nick was sitting at a desk with his laptop, catching up on news about the hurricane. He looked back over his shoulder at Judy.

"Carrots, you just gonna keep staring at me like that? Gonna give me a complex." Judy's smile didn't even waver in the tiniest bit. Nick felt her smile wrap him in warmth, as a matching one found its way to his muzzle. He closed the laptop and moved over to the bed to join her.

The two just lay for a few moments, looking at each other. Judy loved all of Nick's smiles, from his smug hustling smirk to his genuine laughing smile. But her favorite was the one he had right now, looking at her with simple, pure love. It was a different smile, one she first saw under that bridge so long ago. It pulled her in, made her feel secure.

The moment was perfect, but didn't last long as another huge crack of thunder shook their apartment. Both bunny and fox turned to the skylight, seeing the sheets of rain hitting the glass as the storm passed over.

"Nick…" She turned back to him.

"Yeah, Carrots?"

"Do you like storms?"

The question, innocent enough, caught him off guard. "I don't... _not_ like storms. Hurricane Carla here doesn't seem like she's too bad of a gal." He looked back to her eyes as she giggled. "Why do you ask?"

Judy looked back up to the skylight. "I remember growing up back in Bunnyburrow...storms were always so much scarier then. But since I moved here...I actually think storms can be beautiful."

Nick put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Scary storms? I thought my bunny wasn't afraid of anything."

"When I was little it was different. I still remember the big ones that came through when I was a little doe back home. We were farmers, remember? Rain was always a big deal. Too little, and the crops would wither. Too much...and well no one buys soggy carrots."

Nick laughed. "Kinda like that time Clawhouser accidentally dumped his bowl of Lucky Chomps on you? You were kinda a soggy Carrot that day."

"Haha...no I was a steamed Carrot that day." They both laughed.

"Well I'd still take you. I've developed quite a taste for Carrots as of late." Taking his paw under her chin, he placed a light kiss on Judy's lips. "But I get what you're saying about storms. They're very powerful. I guess out in ol' Bunnyburrow you didn't have a nice fancy apartment building with lightning rods and skylights to protect you."

"No, we didn't. And some storms got pretty intense."

A loud laugh escaped Nick. "And now I'm imagining nearly 300 bunnies all snuggled up under a massive blanket as the thunder rolled by." Nick's eyes rolled back in his head. "A _fluff-pocalypse."_

"Oh stop it, Nick." Judy gave a light shove to her fox. "Life on that farm was always hard, but it was nothing compared to being an officer here."

"You bunnies were all about that wretched 'hard work' weren't you?"

"Ha! You wouldn't have lasted two days as a farmpaw for my dad." The statement caught Nick's full attention.

"You're right, I'm much more fit for a supervisor position." Nick sat up and pretended to point to imaginary farm workers. "You there, go pick some blueberries. And you, stop eating one carrot for every three you pull. Now, you all keep working while I go tend to the farmer's daughter." Nick turned back to Judy and started tickling her. Squeals and laughs overtook the sounds of the storms for a few moments.

After recomposing herself, Judy put her hand to her brow and did her best southern belle: "Oh no, what-ever shall I do? Daddy, this sly fox has tried takin' me with his wiles!"

Nick laughed, playing along with his own country accent. "Your daddy can't help you now, little miss!" He leaned down, planting kisses on Judy's cheeks and neck until his eyes raised up to meet hers.

Judy relaxed as Nick's emerald eyes pulled her in deeper. "You know, my dad always did say to watch out for foxes."

"That certainly sounds like your dad. You worried I might take advantage of you?" Nick's smile grew bigger.

Judy laughed. "If anything, I'm the one who took advantage of you." Nick was about to rebut when she leaned in and planted a quick, but deep kiss on Nick's lips. The kiss hit the target, shutting down whatever Nick was about to say. She pulled back, satisfied with herself. "That's what I thought. I may be the only one in the world who gets to see a speechless Nick Wilde."

Nick's brain finally rebooted. "Heh...sly bunny."

"Dumb fox." she said, as she pulled him in again.

* * *

As the storm raged on, Nick and Judy finally managed to get out of bed and did a little cleaning in their apartment. It had been a very busy week for them, and some of the chores had fallen to the wayside. With a load of laundry in, dishes done, and uniforms hung ready for the next day, Judy took to laying on the bed again. Her eyes traced back to the skylight, watching the rain hit the glass in a never ending cascade.

Nick came in the room a few minutes later, surprised to see her sitting and watching the storm again.

"You know, Carrots, we do have a TV."

Judy smiled. "I know, I'm just a little nostalgic tonight."

Nick studied his partner for a moment, deciding whether it would be better to leave her to her musings or join her. He decided on the latter, plopping down next to her again on the bed. Together, they sat in silence for a few minutes, both just taking in the sounds of the storm outside.

Finally, Nick broke the silence. "Tell me more about the farm."

"What?" Judy sat up on her elbows, looking at Nick.

"I said, tell me more."

"You want to hear about the simple farm life?"

Nick chuckled. "Carrots, with your family, _nothing_ is simple." Judy gave him a playful shove. "Seriously, tell me more."

"Well..growing up, we always had to help with the crops, cleaning, cooking...everything."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

"You got used to it. Why do you think I'm so willing to put in extra hours at work?"

"Because you get to spend more time with me, of course."

"That must be it."

"So you had to cook, clean, pick carrots, and I'm guessing help take care of the Hopps Horde?"

Judy laid back and looked to the skylight again. "Yeah, pretty much. Occasionally there was visitors, some other kinda excitement. I remember once a fire broke out in the fields."

"A fire? How's a fire start in the middle of a field?" Nick asked.

"Well...that's a long story."

Nick pointed up to the skylight. "Well, we're not going anywhere anytime soon. I've got plenty of time for a long story."

"Good point. It was when I was just a young doe, 9 years old…"

* * *

 _When she was just a girl, she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep...dreaming para, para, paradise, everytime she closed her eyes..._

* * *

The sun beat down on the three small bunnies. Judy and two of her sisters, Jessica and Joanna, were busy picking blueberries for their mother's desserts that night. It was still early in the day, but the sun was already making their fur dry out.

"It's SO HOT." Cried Judy, her small 9 year old frame unable to take much more. She fell down in the rows between the blueberry bushes, faking as if she were dying. "Ugh, I'm DYING!"  
Jess and Joanna giggled at their silly sister. They too, began feigning death as all three does began rolling around in their family's massive garden.

A larger, older male walked up to the scene. "Well cripes, if you three can't take the heat, I guess we'll just have to skip out on the blueberry pies tonight!"

All three girls immediately popped up, with a unified "BUT DAD!"

Stu chuckled, wiping sweat from his brow. "Well then you better get up, those blueberries ain't gonna pick themselves! Now shoo, shoo!" Stu waved the girls on. All three ran down the line of bushes, quickly plucking the juiciest berries.

About an hour later, their large baskets were full, and the three girls headed back into the house to meet their mother. Bonnie Hopps and some of the other children were busy cutting veggies and kneading dough. Dinner time around the Hopps home was always an ordeal that required most of the children helping. They were all on rotation, taking turns helping in the fields or in the house to get ready each day. Even among rabbit families, the Hopps were one of the biggest. 276 kids was enough to drive any mammal crazy. But Bonnie and Stu weren't just any mammals.

A few hours later, dinner was served in the grand dining hall of the Hopps family. Hopps Produce had been a name for many generations in the whole greater Zootopian area, and this family home had been built on for generations. A wonderful dinner of baked carrots and a radish salad had made its way around until every last bite was gone, and that meant it was time for all the children's favorite time: dessert.

Judy and her two closest sisters got the honor of wheeling out the carts, covered in fresh, warm blueberry pies for the family. Each kit got a warm slice, with Stu and Bonnie last. As dinner came to a close for the day, the incredibly long ritual of getting all the kits ready for bed began. It was then that little Judy happened to be walking by the backwash room when the door heading out back opened suddenly.

A small, slightly dirty ram with a concerned look on his face stepped in. "Jude, where's your pa?"

"What's wrong, Samuel?"

Samuel shook his head and waved his hooves. "There's no time little Jude. Your pa needs to come out here real quick, there's a fire in the fields!"

Judy's eyes grew wide as she turned to run for her father, who was likely in his small office accounting for the day's harvest. She and Samuel pushed the door open, startling the older buck.

"Jude, what in the - _Samuel?_ " Stu's eyes locked onto the sheep. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Mr. Hopps, it's the field! There's a fire!"

* * *

Outside, a small fire was blazing in the field where the corn rows were. Samuel had already notified the fire department in town, but they were at best another half hour from arrival. As the fire grew steadily, Stu had pulled several of the older bucks and farmpaws to start making a fire break around the area. Thankfully, the fire was near the irrigation line, so water was also available to cut off the fire from behind, while the workers dug trenches to stem the fire's growth downwind.

Stu was working hard at delegating, and saw Judy standing, looking on at the blaze. The fire reflected in her eyes. She'd never seen so much fire before in her life.

"Jude, get back to the house and make sure the younger kits stay indoors. This is thankfully just a smaller fire, shouldn't be too hard to hold it back until the fire department can get here."

Judy's eyes focused on fire. _How could a fire have started in the middle of the fields?_ The question bothered her. As they continued working to control the fire, Judy's eyes moved over towards the treeline across from the fields. The light of the fire made a choir of shadows in the woods, but she noticed something her father was likely too busy to see. Going into the woods, moving away from the fields, was a tire track.

Her curiosity got the better of her, and she felt compelled to investigate. Fires with no rational explanation and tire tracks heading into the woods...something wasn't right. Judy waited until her father turned back to the blaze and made her way to the tree line. As she got closer, she saw that the tire track must have belonged to an overturned wheelbarrow about 20 feet into the woods. She ran to the barrow, turning it over and revealing what she feared. It was a gas can. About to turn back to go let her dad know, Judy's ears caught a sound further into the woods. It sounded almost like...laughter.

She moved further into the woods, towards the property line that separated them from their neighbor's, the Greys. The sound of laughing got louder, until Judy peered over a bush, seeing two mammals sitting and laughing. From behind, she could see one was a ferret, and the other was a fox. _Gideon and Travis..._ she thought. _Did they...why would they?_

The ferret spoke. "Oh man, Gid. Can't believe that worked."

"Yeah...that oughta set those dumb bunnies back a little."

Judy's eyes narrowed as she realized what they were saying. She felt anger welling up inside her as she leaned onto a branch of the bush she was hiding behind. Her weight resulted in a loud _SNAP_. Gideon's ears pulled back as the laughing stopped.

"Who's there?" he screamed as he turned around. Judy dropped hard behind the bush as he spun, hoping he didn't see her. Her heart began to race.

"What's up, Gid?" asked the ferret. "What'd you hear?"

Gideon looked out into the woods, his eyes allowing him a much better view of the area at night. He stepped over towards the bush where Judy was hiding. Judy could hear him sniffing the air.

"Travis...c'mere." Gideon motioned for the ferret to join him. He slowly pointed to the bush. "I smell... _a bunny._ "

Fear gripped Judy like an icy paw, panic causing her instincts to kick in. Her legs fired her from behind the bush in a blur of grey fur and she hauled fluff back to her family's property. Behind her, she could hear the thuds of Gideon and Travis's attempt to run after her. _Gotta get home, gotta tell dad…_

Judy darted out of the tree line, noticing the fire department had finally arrived on scene and was working to get the fire under control. In light of the fire, she saw her dad standing near the fire truck speaking with an older fox in a fireman's hat. Tears began streaming down her face as she ran towards him.

* * *

"DADDY!" Stu looked over to see one of his oldest daughters running towards him at top speed from the exact opposite place she was supposed to be. He picked her up as she reached him, holding her as she was crying and shivering.

"Jude, what's wrong? Why aren't you in the house?"

"Daddy, it was Gideon! He started the fire!"

"Whoa whoa, calm down there Judy. Who did what now?" Stu set her down and knelt down next to her, trying to calm the crying doe.

"I saw a tire track heading towards the woods, and I followed it and found a gas can. I went further and found Gideon and Travis laughing about starting the fire!"

"Those two are always up to trouble, but this...this is too much even for them. Are you sure Judy?"

"I'm sure, dad! You said yourself foxes are always causing trouble!"

Stu's face dropped when he heard what Judy had said directly in front of the fire chief...who happened to be a fox.

The fire chief stepped in. "Miss Hopps, I hope you have proof. That's a very serious accusation!"

Stu held his hands up. "Chief Reynard, I'm sure this is all some kinda misunderstanding."

The chief's eyes trained onto Stu. "Mr. Hopps I sure hope so." With a small growl he turned and walked back to the line to help the rest of the squad with the remaining fire.

Stu turned to Judy. "Judith, I told you to go back to the house!"

Judy felt her ears fall back when her dad said her given name. "But dad…"

"Don't 'but dad' me, little one. You get back to the house and we'll discuss this later."

Judy's tears began to well up again, but she obeyed. She ran back to the house and found the only bunny in the world she thought could help: her mother.

* * *

After consoling the crying doe for a few minutes, Bonnie picked her up and carried her to her room. The other bunnies in the room were already asleep, so Bonnie quietly placed Judy down and tucked her in.

Judy sat back up before her mom could leave. "Mom?"

In the doorway, Bonnie turned back. "Yes, dear?"

"Why do foxes hate us?"

Bonnie's heart sank. She knew these kind of questions would come eventually. She went back and sat down at the end of Judy's bed.

"Judy...sometimes you just can't deny nature. Foxes and bunnies were natural enemies for so long...and even though we've grown as a world, some mammals just can't see it any other way."

"I don't understand why we can't all just be friends. Why do some people have to be so mean to others?"

Bonnie lowered her eyes. Judy was learning a hard lesson at a young age. Sometimes, mammals were just mean because being mean was all they knew how to do.

"Judy...sometimes the world isn't perfect. Sometimes mean mammals come around, and we just have to carry on trying to be the ones who make the differences we want to see." She placed her arm around Judy. "That's how you can create your own little paradise. You be the mammal you want to see in others."

"Like the founders of Zootopia?" Judy pulled back from her mom, eyes wide. "We learned about them in history class. They wanted to make a world where predator and prey could live together in harmony, so they made the biggest city in the world!"

Bonnie smiled. For tonight, she could let her daughter believe. "It sounds nice, doesn't it?"

Judy laid back down. "I want to live somewhere like that, mom."

As Bonnie walked out of the room, she peered back to see Judy's eyes finally closing. She softly replied, "Me too, sweetie."

Judy's eyes shut, the chaos of the evening taking its toll as she began to fall asleep.

The last thought through her mind before she drifted away was of the magical city of Zootopia. _It must be paradise._


	2. Planting a Seed of Hope

"But dad, I saw them!" Judy's foot thumped out of frustration. She had entered into her father's office that morning to apologize, but was surprised by her father's apprehension.

"Judy, you don't have any evidence. You don't know that Gideon and Travis caused that fire."

Stu Hopps had been pouring over some papers and a small survey map of the farm. An area of the survey map had been circled meticulously in red, with cross hatches blotting it out. The fire had taken just under an acre of land because they were able to act so quickly to stunt its growth until the fire department arrived. Out of their nearly 500 acres, it wasn't anything catastrophic, but it did lose them some real estate and produce.

"But dad-"

"But nothing, Judith." Stu stepped from behind his desk and leaned down to Judy. "Sweetie, you have to understand." He placed one paw on her shoulder, drawing her eyes to his. Judy noticed her dad's face was covered in concern. "The Greys may have always hated us, but they're foxes, Judy. Foxes...foxes are dangerous predators. If there's even a chance you're wrong...any chance at all that it's a misunderstanding…" Stu's face fell and he took his paw off Judy. "Any accusations against them would only cause them to hate us more. Angry foxes are a rabbit's worst enemy."

Judy's foot thumped again "But I _heard them_. I _heard them_ laughing."

"Did you hear them say specifically that they started a fire?"

"Well...no-"

"Did they tell you they did it?"

"N-no.." Tears started welling up in her eyes.

"Did you see them do it, Judy?"

Judy was sniffling loudly now. "No, daddy...I didn't."

"Then for now, honey...even if you're right, it's your word against theirs. Foxes are sly, they'd get around it somehow."

Stu stood up and put his arm around his daughter. She pushed herself into his side as she composed herself. Looking over at his desk, Stu knew he had a long day ahead of him, but thankfully the kits were off school all week in preparation the Carrot Days festival this coming weekend. He had _plenty_ of extra paws this week to help take care of the farm.

"Daddy?" Judy managed between her sniffles.

"Yes, hon?"

"I don't like mean mammals."

A warm smile came over Stu. "I know hon. But sometimes...sometimes you have to just ignore those who mean you harm. Sometimes...sometimes letting them know they hurt you is just giving them what they want."

"But…" Judy choked on another sob. "But it's just not fair!"

He looked down at Judy. Perhaps after all this excitement, she could use a little time away from the fields. He knelt down again, wiping the last of Judy's tears away. "Hey, come on now Jude the Dude. How about we switch you over from harvest duty today and send you with your mom and the little kits to the park instead?"

Judy's eyes opened wide. "R-really? You mean it?!"

"Yeah, I'm sure your mom would love the extra set of eyes, and you'd probably have a lot more fun that way, go and tell-" before Stu could even finish his thought, Judy was already bolting out of the room to find her mother. He hopped out of his office to see a little gray ball of excitement zooming down the hall towards the main dining room.

* * *

A couple hours later, Judy, her mom, and about 40 of the youngest kits of the family were all at the large park near Woodland Elementary School. Judy and her mom held the newest kits, who had only been born a few months prior, while the rest ran, laughed, hopped, and squealed.

The park had everything a kit could want: slides, rock walls, jungle gyms, swings, sandboxes, and much more. A large wooden ship was built up out of the center of a large sandbox, making it look as if a pirate ship had washed ashore a magical island. Woodland Elementary was a huge school, hosting several different kinds of mammals. The Hopps family, of course, took up the majority of the school, with entire classes being nearly entirely made up of siblings.

The sun was getting high as noon approached. Judy and a handful of her younger siblings were enthralled in a game of tag. Being older and much quicker, Judy had to restrain herself from getting away every time, letting the younger kits tag her. A young doe had tagged her, and Judy was in full pursuit. Each time she'd run towards the little fluffle of bunnies, they'd squeal and dash around her to the sides before grouping back together. As Bonnie noted while watching, it was completely adorable.

After an hour of chasing the squealing kits, Judy meandered over to her mother, who was resting under the shade of a tree with several sleeping newborns.

"Little ones wearing you out, Judy?"

Judy collapsed at the base of the tree next to her mom. She was visibly tired. "That was a lot of fun, mom. I'm glad I got to come with you today."

"Me too Bun Bun." She reached over and pulled Judy to herself. "You'll need the practice. One day you may have a slew of kits yourself to keep track of."

Judy nodded. All little does had dreams of being wonderful mothers some day. But for Judy...that dream always seemed so distant. Some of her sisters had already started looking at the bucks in the area, imagining what it would be like to get married and have kits one day. But Judy always felt like there was something different about her.

"What other things can bunnies do?"

The question somewhat caught Bonnie off guard. "What do you mean?"

"All the bucks become farmers, farmpaws...and all the does become mothers and teachers. Isn't there anything else?" Judy's question was innocent enough. She looked up into her mother's eyes, which were the source of the sparkling violet found in her own. Her mother's face was soft, smiling down to her.

"Sometimes...simple is beautiful, and beauty is simple." She looked back out towards the rest of the kits. "And sometimes...it's anything but simple." she chuckled. Looking back at Judy and smiling, she said softly "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Judy smiled back at her mom. As she thought about her mother's words, Judy didn't even notice her head beginning to lean over onto her mother's side. Bonnie looked down and smiled as she noticed Judy's eyes beginning to droop. Before too long, Judy's breathing steadied out as she slipped into a warm midday nap.

* * *

"HELP!" The sound of a scream jerked Judy awake. She quickly realized her mom wasn't next to her anymore and looked for her. She caught sight of her mother across the park trying to round up the rest of the kits. Judy darted over as others heard the scream too.

Everyone at the park began scanning the area to find the source of the cry.

"HELP, PLEASE!" The scream was coming from a visibly distraught bobcat mother. She was pointing desperately up the trunk of a nearby tree. Looking up, Judy noticed that a small bobcat kitten was precariously perched on a branch, looking completely terrified.

Judy pulled on her mother's shirt. "Mom, I know that bobcat! That's Bobby Catmull, he's in my class!"

Bonnie silently prayed as a small crowd gathered under the tree. Mrs. Catmull was stifling her tears trying to keep her son calm. "Bobby! Come down, it's okay!"

Bobby's eyes were huge as he looked down to the ground. He was only 20 feet up, but to him it may have well been 100 feet. He was completely paralyzed in fear.

Suddenly, the crowd that had been gathering began to split, allowing a taller gray wolf to approach the scene.

Judy was taken aback by the wolf's outfit. It was dark blue, well kept and pressed. She saw a shining emblem on his chest, marked with three letters, "ZPD." The wolf walked up to the frenzied mother.

"Ma'am, my name is Officer Lupus, ZPD."

Mrs. Catmull turned to see the officer, nearly throwing herself on him. "Oh officer, thank you. My son was chasing a butterfly, and without me watching him he managed to get all the way up the tree. When he realized how high up he was, he froze and hasn't been able to move!"

"Okay, ma'am, I'm gonna call for the fire department to come, they'll be able to get their ladder up there to him. In the meantime, I need you to remain calm." Officer Lupus pressed his paw to a radio receiver on his shoulder. "Dispatch, this is Officer Lupus. Please contact the Bunnyburrow fire department and have them send a unit to Woodland Elementary Park. We have a young male bobcat who is stuck in a tree and we need a ladder." He looked back to Mrs. Catmull. "Ma'am, the truck should be on its way shortly."

Mrs. Catmull's eyes released their dam, allowing her tears to flow. "Oh, thank you, thank you officer!"

Judy noticed the wolf's demeanor. He was strong yet gentle. He was sure, confident, and prepared. He was brave and selfless. He was _amazing._

"Wow…" she said, almost involuntarily. Judy had never really seen a real ZPD officer before. She felt compelled to go meet this amazing mammal. She moved away from her mother's side, unnoticed as Bonnie was tending to the other children.

She moved closer to the officer, eyeing his uniform. She could see he had a belt on with handcuffs, and a tranq gun at his side. Every facet of his uniform was drawing her in. Here was a mammal whose entire life was devoted to helping others around him. That concept was completely foreign to Judy, especially since he was a predator. Weren't predators supposed to take advantage of prey? Why would he help them instead? Judy felt no fear, though, as she approached him.

Officer Lupus's radio buzzed to life, snapping Judy back into reality as she stopped a few feet behind him. She couldn't quite make out what was being said via the staticky radio, but Officer Lupus must have understood. His face dropped and his ears went back. Something was wrong.

"Mrs. Catmull, I'm afraid we'll have to find another way to get your son down. The only fire truck here in Bunnyburrow is in use at a fire on the other side of town." Seeing Mrs. Catmull's eyes beginning to water again, he quickly added, "We'll figure a way to get him down, even if I have to climb up there myself."

Judy's mind began to race. She felt like she should do something, too. She felt like she had to help... _needed_ to help. Suddenly, an idea clicked in her mind as she ran over to where the officer was.

"I have an idea!" she cried.

"Huh?" Officer Lupus turned around, seeing no one behind him. "Who said that?"

"Down here!" The wolf looked down, and standing just as high as his knee was a small bunny doe. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there. Sweetheart you'll have to stay back, okay?"

"But officer, I have an idea to help get Bobby down!" Judy pointed to the stranded bobcat. The wolf's face relaxed a little.

"Well little one, that's very kind of you, but I have this covered for now. Why don't you run along and find your mother and let me handle this?" The wolf reached down and ruffled the fur between Judy's ears before turning and walking back to the base of the tree.

Judy sat and processed what just happened. Slowly her brow furrowed as her foot began to thump in anger. "I know my idea can work…" she grumbled to no one in particular.

Officer Lupus reached the base of the tree, considering his previous promise to climb if need be. First, he attempted to talk to the petrified bobcat. "Bobby, right? Can you hear me son?"

Bobby didn't move at all, claws gripped firmly into the wood of the branch beneath him.

"Bobby, can you hear me? My name is Officer Lupus. I'm here to help you."

Bobby's eyes were glassy, locked looking off into the distance. The gruff voice of the gray wolf wasn't getting through. Officer Lupus looked up and his face fell. This wasn't working. He began sizing up the branches heading up the tree that the little bobcat had no doubt used in his own absent minded ascent. They likely wouldn't hold the weight of the wolf as they did for the young kitten.

Watching the wolf try putting his weight onto various branches only made Judy even more frustrated. She began to step forward to approach him again when she heard a familiar voice shouting behind her.

"Judy! JUDY!" Bonnie had finally taken notice that her daughter was missing. Running over to her, she grabbed for Judy's paw. "You're gonna be the death of me, kit. You had me so worried, what were you doing over here?"

"Mom...I wanted to help the officer get Bobby down!" Judy pulled away from her mom, but Bonnie had a grip on her paw.

"Judy, I'm sure the officer had this under control. He knows what he's doing sweetie, let's just-" Bonnie's word cut short when Judy shook her paw free. "Judy? Judy get back here!"

Judy began to run over to the tree. "I gotta help Bobby!"

Running over to the tree, she pulled on Officer Lupus' pant leg. "Officer! I think I know how to get Bobby down!"

Lupus looked down at the tiny doe. "You again? Sweetie I'm trying to figure out how to get up to him right now, I promise I'll get your friend down."

"But sir, I think I know how to get him to come down to us!" Judy rushed over to Mrs. Catmull, eyeing her purse. "Miss, do you happen to have a mirror?"

Mrs. Catmull turned to Judy. "Yes...but why?"

"I remember seeing Bobby playing one time, chasing after a light that was reflecting off a wind chime. Let me see the mirror!" Judy reached out and took a small pocket mirror from Mrs. Catmull. Stepping back into the sunlight, she caught the light and looked to where a small line of reflected sunlight was going up the trunk of the tree. _This has gotta work…_

The small ray of light moved up through the shaded tree branches, finally resting next to Bobby. Judy began to wiggle her paws a little, hoping the small light would catch his attention. Bobby's glassy eyes stayed the same.

Officer Lupus came to step by Judy's side. "You're hoping to distract him from the height?"

Judy's brow furrowed, she needed to grab Bobby's attention for her plan to work. She moved the ray of light around him in circles, hoping to catch his eyes. After a few moments, she saw the fruit of her labor. Bobby's eyes moved to the spot of light directly in front of his paws. _Gotcha!_ She moved the light back and forth, seeing Bobby's eyes widen and follow it. The bobcat's instincts kicked in, and his claws retracted from the branch, allowing him to begin pawing at the light. Slowly, Judy moved the light over to the next lowest branch, seeing Bobby following it as absent mindedly as he likely had followed the butterfly in the first place.

Mrs. Catmull and Officer Lupus began to laugh in relief as Judy led the small bobcat from branch to branch, slowly leading him down the tree. When he landed on a branch close enough, Officer Lupus reached up and grabbed Bobby. "I got you, little buddy!"

All around them, mammals began cheering. Bobby's attention snapped back to the officer, with a confused look on his face as his mother ran over to take him. She pulled her little boy in for a tight snuggle, kissing his head.

Judy put the pocket mirror down and ran over to Mrs. Catmull to return it. When she got there, Mrs. Catmull pulled Judy in for a hug too. "Thank you, thank you little bunny!"

There was another cheer as Bonnie made her way over to the scene. "Judy!" She ran over to take Judy by the paw again. "How did you know how to do that?"

Judy looked up at her mom. "I...I didn't know it work. I just knew I had to try."

The Catmulls walked over, thanking the officer as well. When they walked by Judy and her mom, Mrs. Catmull paused. "Bonnie Hopps, right?"

"Yes, that's me." She held Judy close.

"Well Mrs. Hopps, you have a fine daughter there. She's a hero!"

Bonnie looked down at her daughter with a mix of confusion and pride. "I suppose she is."

"I'd say…" the voice came from behind Bonnie and Judy. They both turned and saw Officer Lupus. He knelt down. "What's your name, kit?"

Judy pulled away from her mother, standing tall next to the kneeling wolf. "Judy. Judy Hopps."

"Well, Judy…" the wolf began to reach into one of the pockets of his belt, pulling out a small sticker. "For your amazing act of bravery and service, I'd like to bestow upon you the rank of Junior Officer." He peeled the sticker and placed it proudly on Judy's shirt.

Judy looked down at the sticker badge with wide eyes. _Junior ZPD Officer_. She felt an overwhelming pride begin to well up inside her. This moment felt good...it felt _right._ With a few tears coming to her eyes, she looked up at the smiling wolf.

"Do you think...do you think I could really become an officer?"

"That's entirely up to you, Judy. Remember the Zootopia motto. _Anyone can be anything_."

* * *

That night, Judy was the talk of the Hopps farm. Dinner was a huge series of Judy retelling the story of saving the bobcat over and over again as new swarms of kits came in. Each time she got a little better at telling it, but tried not to overembelish the details. She still wore her Junior ZPD Officer badge proudly on her shirt, inciting "oohs" and "aahs" from her siblings. Stu and Bonnie were proud of their daughter for being so clever and helping.

As the last round of kits finished hearing Judy's story, the excitement of the day finally started showing wear on the little bunny's face. Judy was exhausted.

Forgoing the normal sequence of clean-up and getting ready for bedtime, Bonnie decided to help the tiny kit find her way to bed a little early that night. She scooped Judy up and began carrying her towards the bedrooms.

"Mom?" said Judy as she rested her head on Bonnie's shoulder.

"Yes, Judy?"

"I liked helping Officer Lupus today." Judy's words made Bonnie smile.

"You were wonderful today, bun bun. You'll be the talk of the town tomorrow, I'm sure."

Judy's little head popped up for a moment. "Really?" Suddenly, Judy felt a little embarrassed.

"Yes, you know your cousins Marty and Suzanne work for the Bunnyburrow Gazette. They already asked if they could put your story into the paper this week."

Judy's eyes opened up. "The newspaper..."

Bonnie laughed as they finally reached the room with Judy's bed. "That's what happens to heroes, Judy. Mammals like to talk about them."

Judy's brow furrowed. "I didn't do it because I wanted other mammals to talk about me, though. I did it because…" her face fell soft again as her mother placed her in bed. "I did it because I knew I needed to help."

Bonnie looked at her daughter as she pulled the sheets back to tuck her in. "All the more reason you're a hero, dear." She reached over and kissed Judy between her ears. "Now, my little hero, you've earned some rest." Bonnie began to get up to move towards the door.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Judy?" Bonnie stood in the doorway again, looking back at Judy's tiny frame tucked into the covers.

"Do you think I could be a police officer one day?"

Bonnie feared that question was coming. After all, there never had been a bunny cop before. Bunnies didn't do danger. Their nature was safety in numbers and avoiding conflict whenever possible. A life as an officer of the law was exactly contrary to that. But Bonnie didn't have the heart to say any of those things at that moment.

"It's always good to have dreams, Judy."

Judy thought for a moment before thumbing at the Junior Officer badge still on her shirt. "I want to make a difference in the world, just like you said."

"And I know you will, Judy. Good night sweetheart." Bonnie closed the door on her way out, a mix of pride, joy, concern, and amusement plastered on her face.

In the dim light coming in through the window, Judy reached over to grab a stuffed bunny she slept with. She reached to her shirt and pulled the sticker badge from it, placing it neatly onto the stuffed bunny's chest. She held it up so that the metallic yellow of the badge shimmered in the moonlight. She pulled the little stuffed bunny back to her chest, squeezing it tightly as she rolled to her side. _Officer Judy Hopps,_ she thought as she fell fast asleep. Sweet dreams quickly overtook her.


	3. Reality Check

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the positive feedback I've gotten on this story. This has been a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy my unique take on the opening events from the movie in this chapter. This story is at nearly 300 views, with several follows and reviews. Let me know how I'm doing!**

 **.**

 _When she as just a girl, she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach, and the bullets catch in her teeth…_

* * *

The tiger stalked slowly towards his prey. Looking out from behind the bushes, he saw a young bunny idly lapping up water. He knew what he had to do. He leaped from behind the crudely cut-out cardboard bushes and "attacked" a little bunny named Judy.

"AAAHH! BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD!" She screamed as she fell over backwards, pulling a long red streamer out of a small pocket in her leotard. Jaguar, dressed as a tiger, looked on as his "prey" grabbed a small bottle of ketchup and began to squirt it all over herself, simulating even more blood gushing from her "wound."

The ketchup had been a last minute addition to the performance. Jaguar had said it would have cause too big a mess, but Bobby Catmull thought it was a great idea. Though, pretty much anything Judy did was amazing in Bobby's eyes after Judy had saved him a few days prior. As the ketchup squirted out of the bottle, Judy made sure to overemphasize her fake groans and gurgles.

"And...DEATH." she said, exceedingly overdramatically, as she threw her head back, letting her tongue fall out. She gave the ketchup bottle one more good squeeze for effect. Drums went off in the background, played by Bobby.

"Back then, the world was divided in two. Vicious predators," -Jaguar let out a fairly harmless growl- "and meek prey."

Two cardboard boxes floated eerily down from above, covering the two young ones as Judy quickly pulled the leotard off and slipped what she had worked so hard on. It was going to be a surprise for everyone. Now they could finally see what she had been thinking on constantly for the past few days leading up to the Carrot Days festival. She held up the simple garb, noting the small, fake badge pinned on the front of it. _I can't wait for everyone to see this!_

Judy quickly threw the costume over herself, then quickly slipped a white robe over top of that while she recited the rest of her lines.

"But over time, we evolved." She could hear Sharla the sheep prancing around outside the boxes, no doubt looking as harmless as intended. "And moved beyond our primitive, savage ways."

The boxes were lifted, revealing the jaguar and bunny in their white robes. They moved together to hold paws.

"Now, predator and prey live in harmony." A small _POP_ went off behind her when Sharla used the party popper to add more effect to their performance. "And every young mammal has multitudinous opportunities." She was really glad she learned the world "multitudinous."

"Yeah," said Sharla, nervous to recite her lines. "I don't hafta cower in a herd anymore. Instead," she grabbed her paper mache space helmet, "I can be an astronaut!"

Off to the side, Bobby Catmull, safely _not_ in a tree, fiddled with a whistle to make eerie space noises.

Jaguar's turn arrived. He tried to summon his most professional of voices. "I don't have to be a lonely hunter anymore." He tossed his robe to the side, revealing a savvy business suit. "Today, I can hunt for tax exemptions. I'm gonna be an actuary!"

As a melodic piano tune played, Judy knew it was now or never. She was _supposed_ to throw the robe off, revealing a farming outfit. Everyone knew that the bunnies of Bunnyburrow were famous farmers, providing the vast majority of produce for all of Zootopia and its outlying districts. She was _supposed_ to do what they had planned from the beginning. But she knew now that she could never be a simple carrot farmer.

 _Here we go!_ Judy thought as she stepped forward. "And I can make the world a better place! I am going to be…"

The cheesy crime drama music playing was her cue. She tossed her robe to the side, revealing her dreams to the world.

"A police officer!" Judy stood proud in her custom-made uniform. This was _her_ moment. She just knew her parents would be so proud of her. She could see their faces in the audience, covered in what must have been shock from the amount of pride they felt. Nothing could hold her down now, not even the antagonistic laughing of a certain vile vulpine in the audience.

"Hahahaha... _bunny cop!?"_ Gideon said as he slapped his knee. "That is the most stupidest thing I ever heard."

Judy didn't let his words phase her. She stepped forward, putting her police cap on. "It may seem impossible to _small minds_ …" she gave him a cutting look, fitting for a criminal such as himself. "I'm looking at you Gideon Gray." She smiled at his ensuing growl. "But, Just 211 miles away stands the great city of Zootopia! Where our ancestors first joined together in peace and declared that anyone can be anything!"

A round of applause filled the room as Bobby hit a few chords of organ music to close the performance. Judy and the others took a bow. "Thank you and good night!"

She looked up, seeing her mom and dad smiling. _I hope they really enjoyed it!_ She looked to Jaguar, Sharla, and Bobby, giving each of them a thumbs up. As the audience began to clear out, Judy stepped over with several of the stagepaws to help clean up. For a brief moment, she was filled with pride in her announcement to the world. She looked up at the backdrop she and her friends had made of Zootopia. _A place where predators and prey work together to make a difference. A paradise like that has to be protected, and one day I'll be the one to do it._

After finishing cleaning, Judy saw her mom and dad waiting at the exit for her. They looked a little concerned. Judy figured it must have been the ketchup. _Too much, I guess._

She ran to her mom, hugging her. "How'd I do, mom?"

Bonnie looked to her husband. He nodded back cautiously. "You...you did great bun bun!"

"Yeah, Jude…" Stu added. He knew they needed to talk with Judy, so he knelt down to her level. "Sweetie...we need to have a little chat with you."

The three of them walked out of the barn where the talent show had taken place. Stu figured he might as well be the one to start the hard conversation ahead. Stu and Bonnie were holding on to Judy's little paws as she skipped. Stu was afraid that if he wasn't holding her, she'd simply bounce away. He tried breaking the ice softly.

"Judy...you ever wonder how your mom and me got to be so darn happy?"

"Nope." she replied quickly, oblivious to what her father was trying to communicate.

Stu pressed on. "Well...we gave up on our dreams and we settled. Right Bon?"

Bonnie tried to sound as sweet as possible to her daughter. "Oh, yes, that's right, Stu. We settled _hard_." _25 sets of kits'll do that to a doe_ she laughed to herself.

Stu continued. "See, that's the beauty of complacency, Jude. If you don't try anything new, you'll never fail."

Judy pulled her paws from her parents, eying a row of haystacks coming up. "I like trying, actually." She hopped up onto the row of haystacks, continuing skipping along. Her parents had to pick up the pace to keep up.

Bonnie tried her paw at pulling the little bunny back down from her dream orbit. "What your father means, hun, is it's gonna be difficult... _impossible_ even, for you to become a police officer."

"Right, there's never been a bunny cop." Stu added. "Never."

Judy's eyes fell for a moment. "Oh…" Relief washed through Bonni and Stu. Maybe Judy would understand after all- "Then I guess I'll have to be the first one!" Judy shouted as she perked back up and kept skipping. She hopped off the row of stacks. "Because I am gonna make the world…" she hopped onto the side of a food cart, launching into a backflip. "...a better place!" she posed cutely as she landed.

Her parents exchanged more concerned looks. Their words were falling on completely deaf bunny ears.

"Or...uh...heck you know, you want to talk about making the world a better place…" Stu moved over to one of their carrot produce stands the Hopps had set up for the festival. "...no better way to do it than becoming a carrot farmer!"

Judy looked over to her parents carrot stand, and then back to her parents. She was glad her parents were happy as farmers, but she already knew her place.

"Yeah," added Bonnie. "Your dad, me, your 275 brothers and sisters...we're changing the world! One carrot at a time."

"Amen to that! Carrot farming is a noble profession!"

As Stu continued talking, Judy heard Sharla and her brother Gareth behind her. Her attention was immediately pulled away from whatever her dad was talking about. She looked to see them running past the Whack-a-Carrot game with her little sister Paisley. Sharla had her hard-earned tickets in her hoof. But what caught Judy's eye was a certain shifty fox eying her friends as they walked past. _Gideon Gray...up to no good again I'm sure._ She watched as he and Travis followed after them. Judy was immediately uncomfortable and decided to follow. She'd catch up with her parents later. She had work to do.

After following them to a small clearing behind the game booths, she saw what she feared. Gideon and Travis were doing what they did best.

"Gimme your tickets right now or I'm gonna kick your meek little sheep butt!" Gideon gave Sharla a small shove.

"Ow! Cut it out, Gideon!" Sharla cried.

"Baa baa!" Gideon snatched the tickets from her and shoved them in the front pocket of his overalls.. "What are you gonna do? Cry?"

Judy had seen enough. This fox had pushed her and her friends around enough. "HEY!"

Gideon and Travis's gazes fell on her. "You heard her. Cut it out."

Gideon scoffed at her. "Nice costume, _loser_. What crazy world are you living in where you think a _bunny_ could be a cop?" He approached her, looming over her. Gideon was easily twice her height. But Judy knew she had a job to do, and surely even a fox such as Gideon could be reasoned with. "Kindly return my friends tickets." she said as she reached her paw out.

Gideon arrogantly patted at the tickets. "Come and get 'em, but watch out! Because I'm a _fox_." Gideon held his claws up in a mock savage display. "And like you said in your dumb little stage play, us predators used to _eat_ prey." He heavily punctuated "eat" as he leaned forward, flashing his teeth. Judy's instincts screamed at her to run at the sight of such teeth, but her resolve held her in place. She knew she had something to prove. He leaned closer to her. No matter how hard she tried, he could still smell a small amount of fear. He pressed in, "And that killer instinct is still in our dunnah."

 _Dunnah?_ Judy thought.

Travis chimed in from behind him. "Uh...I'm pretty much sure it's pronounced 'DNA'."

Gideon's eyes fell for a moment as Travis ruined his intimidation factor. "Don't tell me what I know, Travis."

Judy forced herself to step forward again while Gideon was distracted. "You don't scare me, Gideon-" her words were cut short by a forceful shove. Gideon had launched her backwards with both paws. She hit the ground with a thud that knocked the wind out of her. She looked back up to Gideon who was leaning over her.

"You scared now?" His muzzle had a mean smirk on it as he stood over her.

"Look at her nose twitch!" cried Travis. "She is scared!"

Gideon leaned down further, mocking Judy. "Cry little baby bunny!"

Fear and instinct to flee welled up inside Judy. She was an awful mixture of furious, terrified, ashamed, and indignant. _Why does he hate us so much? That smug look of his…_ Suddenly, Judy's anger began to win her inner turmoil. This disgusting fox leaning over her...she tried the civil route, and it didn't work.

"Cry! Cr-" Gideon was caught off by two large rabbit feet kicking him square in the muzzle. Judy felt a rush of adrenaline hit her as the fox staggered back. _That'll teach him…_ But it wasn't enough. Gideon didn't fall over like she had imagined. Instead, he still stood tall. He reached to his lips with his paw, bringing it back to see a small amount of blood on them. His eyes changed back to hatred and he looked fuming with anger. "Oh, you don't know when to quit, do you?"

Judy gasped as he brought his claws into view. _No...what have I done? He's going to…_ Her thoughts were cut short as a searing white pain crashed onto her cheek. His claws thankfully weren't as sharp as they could have been, but she still felt the gashes they had ripped on her face. She reached her hand up instinctively to the wound, pulling it back and seeing blood. _This is all going wrong...why can't I stop him?_

Gideon got down on his knees, forcibly putting his paw on Judy's face to hold her down. He was over her, on top of her, overpowering her. Her fear ran unchecked as her body froze, the rapid twitch of her nose giving it all away. Gideon brought his face, his _teeth_ , closer to Judy's.

"I want you to remember this moment…"

Her mind was screaming, racing at breakneck speeds. Suddenly every detail was overwhelming her senses. The smell of dirt, a fox, _fear..._ permeated every part of her. She was helpless under his weight. _Why? Why is he doing this? Why can't I stop him? Why did I try to do anything? All of this over some stupid...the tickets!_ Judy's eyes caught the tickets sticking out of Gideon's front pocket. With the position he was in, they were just within her reach, if she could only...

"...the next time you think you will _ever_ be anything more than just a stupid carrot-farming dumb bunny!" Gideon yelled at her as he shoved her head back down to the earth. The small impact shook her head a little, but she knew it was finally over. Gideon and Travis walked off, likely feeling proud of themselves.

It took everything in her to hold back the tears, but she had to. Sharla, Paisley, and Gareth had ran back over to her.

"That looks bad…" said Gareth, seeing her cheek. Judy reached up to wipe the wound again.

"Are you okay, Judy?" said Sharla, meekly.

Forcing her body to move, Judy began to pick herself up. "Yeah. Yeah I'm okay." she said, lying. Sitting up, she revealed the tickets. A small victory in the face of defeat. "Here you go."

"Oh! Wow! You got our tickets!"

"You're awesome, Judy!" said Gareth. Paisley started clapping furiously behind her.

Judy stood up and began to dust herself off, seeing her cap in front of her on the ground.

"Yeah, that Gideon Gray doesn't know what he's talkin' about!" Sharla's voice carried the same disdain Judy felt earlier. But now...Judy felt something different.

She may not have won the war, but there was a small victory today. She'd managed to do _something_ , even though it wasn't much, in the face of fear. Gideon may have thought he won, but Judy wasn't done yet. He was going to pay for what he did, not just to her, but to her friends, and her family.

She walked over to her cap. "Well, he was right about one thing." Picking it up, she placed it firmly on her head again, right where it belonged. "I _don't know when to quit._ "

Judy felt a tiny paw on her side. She looked down, seeing Paisley. "Judy, you're bwave!" Despite the pain in her cheek, Judy smiled. She reached down and picked her little sister up. "Come on, Paisley. Let's get you back to mom and dad."

* * *

"JUDY!" Bonnie screamed as she ran to her daughter, carrying Paisley. "Where did you go off to?"

Judy put Paisley down, letting her run along. She ran to her mom, hugging her.

"Your father and I were a little worried when you left while we were talking...Judy?" Bonnie looked down, seeing her daughter beginning to shiver and sniffle. She knelt down as she pulled Judy back, seeing the tears coming down her face.

"Judy, are you...oh sweetie what happened to your cheek!?" Bonnie inspected the three lines of red on Judy's cheek. Judy sniffed hard, more tears coming down her face. All the bravery she had mustered while confronting Gideon was gone. She was with her mom, and didn't have to be brave anymore, so the tears flowed. "Judy, what happened?"

"G-Gideon Gray was pushing my friends...and he st-stole their tickets, and so I tried to stop him…"

"That fox did this to you?"

"Uh-huh...he pushed me, so I kicked him...and he clawed my cheek…" she reached herself forward and attached herself back to her mom.

"Judy...we told you to stay away from him!" She picked her daughter up, holding her close. _She doesn't realize how badly this could have gone._

"I was just...I was just trying to make a difference, like you said."

Bonnie lightly stroked at Judy's ears as she scanned the festival for her husband. He was going to be furious about this. "It's okay now, bun bun. I have you."

"I tried being brave, momma." she pulled a big sniffle in. "I got their tickets back for them."

A wash of guilt came over Bonnie. "Judy, you should have come to find me or your father, and told your friends to get away too."

"But…"

"No buts, little miss. Now, let's go find your father and get everyone home. We'll talk more about this tonight."

* * *

A few hours later, Judy laid in her bed. A late evening storm had come through Bunnyburrow, as if only to accentuate her mood. The rain fell lightly against the roof of their home, flooding the long halls with the sounds of _pit pat pit pat pit pat_. What had started as a wonderful day had ended badly for the young doe. She wasn't sure what had hurt worse: Gideon's claws or her father's words.

" _Judith Laverne Hopps...I told you to stay away from that fox!"_

" _But daddy...he started it!"_

" _You're a_ bunny _, Judy. Bunnies don't fight foxes, we RUN AWAY. That's what we do. Staying safe is our number one priority, our instinct. We didn't survive for thousands of years by fighting predators head on!"_

The scene played over and over again in her mind. Judy thought she was doing the right thing. She saved her friends, even if it cost her something. That's what brave people did, isn't it? She tossed in her bed, making a loud huff as she rolled to her side.

" _Bravery isn't a bunny thing. It's a...a wolf thing! It's a rhino thing! It's a...any mammal other than bunnies!"_

" _I had to help my friends!"_

" _You could have gotten yourself KILLED, Judy!"_

" _Someone had to do something! I can't just let Gideon get away with bullying-"_

" _I've had enough of this, Judith. It's all that crazy wolf cop's fault. Putting ideas in your head that don't belong there."_

" _Stuart! Don't you think you're being a little hard on her? She's just a little doe…"_

" _No Bonnie, she's MY little doe. And I won't have her galavanting around town pretending to be some kinda hero! This, this_ costume _only feeds that delusion!"_

" _No, daddy! Give it back, please!"_

Tears welled up in her eyes. All her dreams, her hopes...were sitting in the bottom of a trash can now. She was glad it was raining. The sound of the rain muffled her soft sobs. She reached up to wipe her eyes, and her paw felt the bandages on her cheek. The pain was still there, still real. Her cheek was slightly swollen, and she could feel the pressure on it as she pushed the tears from her eyes.

" _Foxes hate us, Judy. They always have, they always will. It's in their blood, their nature!"_

" _I just wanted to help…"_

" _You can help by dropping this cop thing and focusing on reality for a change."_

" _I don't want to be a stupid carrot farmer!"_

" _Judith, don't speak to your father that way!"_

" _Young doe you've got 275 siblings who know their place in this world. Hopps farm, that's what we do. It's what we were made for!"_

" _Well maybe I don't want to be a Hopps anymore!"_

Judy knew she was different from her siblings. She was different from any other bunny she knew, and she knew lots of them. Bunnies didn't become cops...they weren't heroes. But she just...had to try. She thought if she could prove herself...maybe they would see what she did. Her mom seemed to at least somewhat believe in her, but her dad...he didn't understand. All he knew was fear.

Beside her was her little stuffed bunny. She held it up, eyeing it in the dim light coming from a lamp towards the end of the bedroom. The stuffed bunny's eyes were happy, a stitched smile on it's face. The big, shiny Junior ZPD Officer badge on it glowed in the light as her mother's words came back to her.

" _Judy...sometimes the world isn't perfect. Sometimes mean mammals come around, and we just have to carry on trying to be the ones who make the differences we want to see."_

Judy's tears began to dry up. Her dad was right about one thing: she did need a dose of reality. And she got three of them right across her cheek. She knew Gideon was in the wrong today, and she knew Gideon started the fire. She also knew that someone had to do something before Gideon's actions really did hurt someone.

" _Us predators used to eat prey!"_

How could he be so mean? So cruel to those around him?

" _I want you to remember this the next time you think you will ever be anything more than a stupid carrot farming dumb bunny!"_

"I'm not a dumb bunny." Judy whispered, holding her stuffed toy close. Gideon was wrong, and she would prove it. Her dad might not want to, but Judy knew she had to stand up for those who couldn't, for those who were _taught_ not to.

" _That's how you can create your own little paradise. You be the mammal you want to see in others."_

" _Remember the Zootopia motto: Anyone can be anything."_

The rain got stronger. As she finally started closing her eyes, Judy let the sounds of the rain drown out her thoughts and pull her finally towards sleep.

* * *

 _Life goes on, it gets so heavy, the wheel breaks the butterfly, every tear a waterfall_

 _In the night, the stormy night, she closed her eyes_

 _In the night, the stormy night, away she flies_

 _To dream of para, para, paradise..._


	4. Dream a Dream

Judy stood proud. She looked down at her pressed uniform, badge gleaming on her chest. All around her, faces of mammals beamed with smiles and hope. She stood on a stage, having just had her badge pinned on her by the mayor of Zootopia.

"Our first rabbit officer, Judy Hopps!"

Flashbulbs from cameras went off light lightning bolts in front of her. Reporters from every newspaper and station wanted to get a picture of her.

"Miss Hopps!" shouted several of them. "How does it feel, being the first bunny officer?"

"It feels great!" she said with a giant toothy smile. She was so proud, she had done it. When everyone said it was impossible, she had done it.

The crowd around her began cheering. Looking out at the crowd, she saw her siblings and her mother, all smiling and waving. Her mother was crying tears of joy. But where was her father? He should have been there too.

Suddenly, a loud roar of laughter erupted from behind the crowd. Judy couldn't hear the cheers or applause anymore, only the laughing. She looked to the mayor, who had been standing next to her. He had vanished. Shocked, she looked back to the crowd. The reporters and her family had also vanished, replaced by a solitary young fox sitting in the only seat remaining.

"Haha, bunny cop? That is the _stupidest_ thing I ever heard." Gideon howled.

Judy stepped off the stage. "I'll show you stupid, Gideon! You're under arrest!"

Gideon stood up from his seat, and suddenly Judy realized he was no longer laughing, but glaring. He stood over her, growing and growing until she felt tiny. He was easily the size of an elephant.

"You want to arrest me?"

Judy reached for a pair of handcuffs, looking up at the massive fox. "I'll arrest you for clawing me, and for setting a fire on our farm!"

The giant fox looked down to her. "You don't know when to quit, do you?" He raised his massive paw and swung it down towards the tiny Judy.

Terror flooded Judy's entire body. She managed to regain herself just enough to hop out of the way of the giant paw as it smashed into the ground next to her. The giant fox, now leaned over, opened his giant muzzle, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth.

A voice came from everywhere. "Predators used to _eat prey_. And foxes have always hated bunnies."

The giant muzzle moved towards Judy, the teeth beginning to move as if a part of a giant machine. Fear was replaced by instinct, and Judy ran.

She ran past the stage towards a forest. Running with as much speed as her legs would carry her, she whizzed between trees and bushes. The forest seemed to go on forever, and before long she knew she was likely lost. Her ears shot up and moved around, trying to hear if any giant foxes were coming for her. She heard nothing, stopping and leaning on a tree to catch her breath.

A smell hit Judy rather harshly. The smell was undeniably smoke. She looked towards the direction it was strongest, and through the low light of the forest could see a light flickering in the distance. She ran towards the fire, compelled to see if what was wrong. As she got closer, she saw an overturned wheelbarrow with a gas can next to it.

Coming up on the fire, she could see that it was overtaking a row of corn that had somehow managed to grow in a clearing in the woods. She could just make out a figure at the edge of the blaze. It was her father.

"Daddy!" she screamed as she ran to him. She reached him, seeing that he was staring off into the fire. "Daddy, we have to put the fire out!"

He looked to her. "And what makes you think you could make a difference?"

Judy pulled back, confused. "Daddy...what?"

"You can't make any difference, Judy. Foxes always hated us." He pointed to the fire. In the middle of the blaze was another figure, standing much taller than her father. He stood in the middle of the fire, but looked completely unharmed.

"But daddy…"

"No buts, Judith. You can't help. You're just a doe." He reached down to her, grabbing her by the front of her uniform. He pulled her close, undoing the badge on her shirt.

"You think you're a cop?" he said as he threw the badge into the fire. "You're a Hopps. Hopps are farmers. You won't need this costume anymore." Her father pulled at her uniform, somehow pulling it completely off of her. It too went into the fires that were now around them. The uniform began to burn up as the figure inside the fire moved towards it.

Judy was weeping now. She was angry. Angry at her dad, angry at Gideon...angry at herself. She looked to her father, who was staring again at the fire.

"I have to do something! I have to try!"

A voice emanated from the fire around her.

" _I want you to remember this…"_

"No...no!"

" _Just a stupid carrot farming dumb bunny…"_

"I'm not a dumb bunny!" she screamed as she bolted up in her bed, panting. The scream had alarmed some of her sisters who shared her room, who all turned to her.

It was still dark out, but the storm seemed to have passed. Embarrassed, Judy apologized to her sisters and tried to calm herself down.

"You're not dumb, Judy." a small voice whispered next to her. Another bunny climbed into bed with her.

"Thanks, Jess." she said, not even bothering to look at her litter-mate.

"Are you okay? You're still panting." Her sister moved over next to her, placing a paw on her back.

A small sniffle was the only response Judy gave. She wanted to hide her crying, but the dream shook her badly. She let out another sniffle as Jess lay next to her. Jess always had a more nurturing attitude like their mother. She softly moved her paws against Judy's ears as she'd seen her mother do a thousand times to calm down a crying kit.

"I think you're amazing, Judy. I don't know why daddy had to yell at you like that."

Judy, finally calming down, turned to see her sister. "I guess you heard that, huh?"

Jess giggled a little. "Yeah...some of us were hiding around the corner listening. Daddy threw your uniform away, didn't he?"

Judy closed her eyes. "Yeah…" she sniffled again.

"I think if anyone could be a cop, it's you Judy."

"Thanks, Jess." She reached her paw out, hugging her sister lightly before rolling onto her back. The two sisters sat in silence for a moment.

"So, how'd you do it?" Jess asked.

"How'd I do what?"

"How'd you stand up to a fox like that?"

Judy thought for a moment. How had she managed to do that? She had gone to stop Gideon from bothering her friends as if it were the most natural thing for a bunny to do.

"I...guess I just knew someone needed to do something. I don't like seeing people get hurt."

"You're so brave, Judy. I wouldn't have been able to do that. Gideon terrifies me."

Judy looked to the ceiling. Gideon didn't terrify her. Seeing her friends hurt, that terrified her. Knowing someone could be so cruel and hurt others for pleasure, that terrified her.

"Is it true that you kicked him?"

Judy thought back. Bunnies used their legs to run and hop and escape from danger. Judy had used her for the opposite...to kick Gideon. By doing so, she put herself in _more_ danger.

"Yeah, I kicked him. Right in the muzzle." She reached up to the bandage on her face, hiding three still sore marks. "And then he clawed me."

"Wow, you're amazing Judy!" another voice came from the side of the bed. Joanna climbed up with her other two sisters. "Jayce and Jackson said you gave that Gideon a busted lip!"

Judy sat up slightly, smiling at her other litter-mate. "I did. Made him real mad, too."

Jess and Joanna giggled at their sister's remark as the sun began to peek through the window.

* * *

Judy sat in the dining hall for breakfast with her litter. They usually rotated breakfasts by litter, the older kits eating last so they could help their mother serve the younger first. There were eight in Judy's litter, five female and three male. Judy, Jessica, Joanna, Julie, Jennifer, Joshua, Jayce, and Jackson. Of the sisters, Judy was really only close with Jess and Joanna, Julie and Jenny stayed to themselves often. The bucks were always usually working in the fields with their dad now to keep them out of trouble.

This was their normal morning routine, and had been for quite some time. This morning, however, Judy's breakfast was interrupted by loud thuds on the front door of their home.

 _Thud thud thud._

Visitors this early in the morning weren't that common, but it was a Sunday. Sunday in the Hopps home was family day each week, and they tried to stay together and use the time to get the whole fluffle to simmer down in preparation for the next week. The thuds on the door didn't help.

The majority of the younger kits were curious and clustered around the door before Bonnie could get there. She lightly stepped over and around the kits, reaching her paw to open the door. Judy figured it was simply a neighbor or perhaps one of the farmpaws, and went back to eating her breakfast. Her ears did perk up, however, when she heard a familiar voice yelp from the main entrance.

"Whoa...help!"

Judy recognized the voice and got up, moving swiftly to the main entrance. Once she arrived, she saw what was unfortunately quite normal in their home. A large pile of bunnies was climbing on top of their guest, pelting him with paws, questions, and comments.

"Wow, your ears are big!"  
"Your badge is shiny!"

"Are these handcuffs?"

"Have you ever arrested someone?"

Bonnie simply laughed as she began pulling kits off of the wolf. Judy stood near her mom and giggled.

"Officer Lupus!" Judy exclaimed as she was finally able to see him.

The wolf panted as he stood back up. "I've been attacked by rhinos, bears, and lions, but that was much more terrifying."

Bonnie chuckled. "Welcome to our home, Officer. How can we help you?"

The wolf looked and saw Judy staring at him, and he knelt down. He smiled softly at her, but winced noticing the bandage still on her cheek. "Well I hope I'm not imposing on you, but I heard tell my young Junior Officer got in a little scuffle yesterday and I just had to come by to check on her."

Bonnie nodded. "Word travels fast in this town, so I'm not surprised."

Lupus reached his paw out and examined her bandage. "Are you okay, Judy?"

She looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "I'm okay."

"What happened...if you don't mind my asking, that is." he stammered, looking back up to Bonnie.

"No, officer, it's fine. Judy was simply trying to help her friends yesterday with a bully. She stood her ground instead of running away."

The wolf's eyes widened and he looked back to Judy. "Is that true?"

Judy's face blushed. "Yes, officer...I got into a fight. Gideon started it...he stole my friends' tickets. I told him to give them back and he pushed me. So I kicked him and then he got my face." She looked up at him finally, smiling sheepishly. "But I got the tickets back."

"Well, Judy, it's good that you tried to defend your friends. But it's not good that you put yourself in danger like that. I'm glad you only got a few bumps and scrapes, though."

"Oh my," said Bonnie, "here we are still standing in the drafty doorway. Officer Lupus, would you like to come in for some coffee?"

"I'd love to, Mrs. Hopps. A little coffee would be great before I head back out on patrol."

They moved back to the dining hall as Officer Lupus attempted to sit in a chair meant for a much smaller mammal. Judy and her sisters giggled at the sight of the wolf. The fluffle had made their way back in, but Bonnie shooed them out and told them to get to their chores.

Lupus looked back down to Judy. "Young miss, has this bully given you problems before?"

Judy just nodded, looking down at her unfinished breakfast. "His name is Gideon Grey. He's been bothering us for a long time."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Bonnie came back from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for the officer. "The Grey family lives down the way from us. Their property attaches to ours. Gideons just a couple years older than Judy's litter, and he's an only child. Their farm grows several varieties of fruit, but it hasn't been doing as well the past few years since Jeremiah Grey, Gideon's father, had his accident."

Judy remembered hearing about the accident, how Gideon's dad got his leg crushed under a beam that fell while building a storehouse on their property.

"That must be hard for them. Your produce seems to be doing well though. I remember seeing Hopps Family Produce in the stores I grew up near back in the city."

"We do alright here. We're blessed."

"I heard there was a fire on your property recently, everything okay?"

Judy cringed at the comment. She feared bringing it up, though, because she still didn't have any proof. _I bet...I bet Officer Lupus would know how to get some though…_

"Oh, it's fine. Fires happen on farms all the time, especially with a drier season like we've had. The rain last night helped a bunch, though."

"Glad to hear that."

"Officer Lupus?" Judy had moved to stand next to him.

The wolf smiled as he looked down at Judy. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I bet you've caught a lot of criminals, haven't you?"

The wolf chuckled. "Well, yes, I've had to arrest a few in my time. Since I was stationed out here in Bunnyburrow it's been a lot quieter, that's for sure. But back in the city, I was in Precinct One, the heart of Zootopia in Savannah Central. I'm far too old of a wolf for that hectic life now, though."

Judy thought hard, trying to find the right words for her next question. "If you don't see someone do something bad, can you still arrest them?"

"Well, that depends on what's going on. As long as you have evidence that points to them doing it, they can still be charged with it and arrested, yes. Why do you ask?"

Judy looked back down at the ground. "What if you know someone did something wrong, really _really_ wrong, but you don't have any proof that they did it?"

"Judy," Bonnie interjected, "I don't know that these are appropriate questions for our guest, hun."

Lupus laughed again. "No, it's fine Mrs. Hopps. These are great questions for anyone aspiring to work in law enforcement, no matter what capacity." He turned back to Judy. "Well, if you don't have any evidence, it's much harder. You can ask around, see if anyone may have witnessed what happened. Other than that, the only other thing you could do is confront the mammal and get a confession."

"A confession?" Judy thought for a moment.

"Yup. Sometimes that's the easiest way to prove something." He paused for a moment, looking at Judy. "Judy, do you think someone did something illegal?"

Judy's ears dropped. She was afraid to say anything without proof. "I think...I think I know who started the fire on our farm."

Bonnie's eyes widened as she stepped in. "I-I think that's enough questions for Officer Lupus for one day, bun bun." She laughed nervously as took the officer's empty coffee cup and motioned for Judy and her sisters to clean up their dishes. The wolf looked a little suspiciously at Mrs. Hopps, then back to Judy. Judy lowered her ears and quickly cleaned up the table.

Lupus stood up, grabbing his hat from the table. "Thank you for the coffee, ma'am. I should get back to my patrol now."

Bonnie escorted the officer back to the main entrance. "Thank you for visiting Judy, Officer Lupus."

Lupus stepped out of the doorway, pausing for a moment. "Mrs. Hopps...in all my years on the force I've learned to spot a few things about mammals. Your daughter is special."

Bonnie began to speak, but was stopped by a raised paw.

"Judy is a very determined young doe. She's resourceful, smart, and genuinely wants to help other mammals." He placed his cap on his head. "But she's also naive. If she senses something wrong, she won't let it go until she gets to the bottom of it. I really do think she'd make a great cop one day, but for now she's just a kit. To reach her potential, she'll need guidance."

"Officer Lupus, I have always said I want my kits to be happy and _safe_." Bonnie's ear dropped. "Her father and I just...don't want her to do anything foolish. Fighting bullies, saving mammals...those aren't bunny things. Bunnies keep to themselves, raise families, farm. We aren't heroes."

"With all due respect, Mrs. Hopps, I think you're limiting yourself as well as your species by adopting that stereotype. Anyone _can be_ anything. All they have to do is try."

"I…" Bonnie didn't know what to say. She wanted Judy to be happy, and always knew she was special. "I just want what's best for my daughter. I don't want her to have dreams that are doomed to be shattered. I don't know if hearing things like this is good for her."

"Well, it may be too late for that. Right Judy?" Officer Lupus turned his gaze towards the open door. A small gasp came from the other side of it, and Judy slowly peeked her head around the side.

"Judith!" her mother exclaimed. "You...heard all of that?"

Judy nodded and walked around the door, keeping her eyes and ears low. The wolf knelt down next to her.

"Judy, I know you want to help. I know what it's like to feel responsible for the actions of others." He placed his much larger paw on her shoulder. "But be careful. The world around you isn't always going to play fair. Other mammals will try to tell you to stop, because they don't want to see you make it where they failed. Never give up, there's always a way around those who stand against you."

Judy looked up and gave a small smile to the wolf, nodding. "I just want to do what's right, and prove that I'm not just a dumb bunny." Her ears perked up and her eyes sparkled with a resolve that reminded Lupus of himself at her age.

The older wolf stood up, tipping his cap to Bonnie and saluting Judy as he began to walk away. Bonnie looked down at her daughter, ears perked and ready to take on the world again.

"Judy…" Her mother reached her paw over, pulling Judy to herself. "Do you really want to be a police officer?"

She looked up into her mother's eyes. "I want to try."

"Even though there's never been a bunny cop before?"

Judy thought for a moment. "You told me to be the mammal I want to see in others. That's why I have to try. I want to make my own paradise, just like you said."

Bonnie's eyes teared up a little bit. She never figured of all the mothers and the thousands of kits in Bunnyburrow...she'd be the one to have a mold-breaker. "Well then, Judy...I guess we'll need to get that uniform of yours out of the trash." She leaned over, planting a small kiss between Judy's ears. "Just don't tell your father yet."

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying this. I intend on the next chapter being the last one for this story, and then all my efforts will go into a few chapters for Count the Ways, which you've all made it very clear you're enjoying a lot! Please feel free to drop a review to let me know how I'm doing or let me know if you have any questions!**

 **I'll see you guys soon, and DFTBA, Don't Forget To Be Awesome!**


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